Jimbaran Bali

Jimbaran Bali

Jimbaran Bali is a fishing village and tourist resort in Bali, Indonesia. Located south of Ngurah Rai International Airport, the beach has seafood restaurants and luxury hotels, including the five-star Kayumanis Private Estate & Spa, Intercontinental Hotel Bali, AYANA Resort and Spa Bali, Four Seasons and Jimbaran Puri Bali and the casual dining restaurant Cuca.

Jimbaran beach and the famous Jimbaran Bay are located on Bali’s southwestern coast of the narrow isthmus connecting the Bali mainland and the Bukit Peninsula. The beach and the bay of Jimbaran offers small secluded areas, where tranquility and peace are the perfect antidote to a stressful world.

The land gently slopes away from the beach revealing exclusive celebrity haunts hidden under a canopy of leafy tropical forests.You can find your own Jimbaran hotel or dining preference, list of attractions and others below.

Jimbaran as an administrative entity forms a part of Kuta, and encompasses the area just south of Bali’s international airport. Most of Jimbaran’s 12,000 inhabitants live in a cluster of traditional banjar neighborhoods at the narrowest part of the isthmus, but the Jimbaran area also includes the sparsely populated northwestern corner of the Bukit plateau.

Since the Nusa Dua highway leads visitors through the region along the eastern mudflats and mangrove swamps, the area went almost unnoticed by tourists until a few years ago. There were no hotels or even home stays, no tourist restaurants, no art shops, few artists, and hardly anyone who could speak English. All that is changing rapidly, perhaps more rapidly than some of the local residents would like. Jimbaran’s fine beach has now led to the construction of a number of luxury hotels along its edge, and in a few years the area seems destined to become another major resort rivaling Sanur, Kuta and Nusa Dua.

Jimbaran village is unique in that it borders two separate coasts lying less than 2 km apart, each of which has a markedly different geography. To the west is the broad expanse of Jimbaran Bay and the Indian Ocean. To the east is a tidal mudflat enclosing the shallow and sheltered Benoa Harbor. The ecosystems of the two strands, and the occupations of villagers who five on them, differ dramatically.

Salt making and lime production are the principal livelihoods on the eastern side while fishing is the main industry of the west The salt is made by sloshing seawater onto the flats, to be dried by the sun. Villagers then rake up the salty dirt and evaporate the solution over wood fires in shallow metal pans. The abundance of coral fragments provide the raw materials for the lime industry. (NOTE: You will have to ask directions if you want to see salt and lime workings, these areas are only accessible via a rabbit’s warren of unpaved tracks.)

Jimbaran’s lovely western beach is protected from larger waves by a fragmented reef behind which lies shallow water, an ideal anchorage for large fishing boats. However idyllic it may appear during the dry season, the beach is often rather unpleasant from about November through March when high waves assault the shore, and the sand becomes littered with flotsam of every description.

Fishing is the principal activity all along the bay, not only in Jimbaran itself, but also in the villages of Kedonganan and Kelan to the north. Kedonganan’s catch always surpasses that of Jimbaran. The Kedonganan fishermen who are mostly Javanese use large, motorized prahu made in Madura to catch enormous quantities of sardines with huge purse seines. They depart in the late afternoon and return just after dawn to sell their catch to wholesalers waiting by the shore with trucks full of ice.

An early morning visit to witness the arrival of the fishing fleet at Kedonganan is a heady experience. Head north from Jimbaran towards the airport and take the first paved road to your left (west) just beyond Jimbaran village’s northern boundary. Bear in mind, however, that fishing comes almost to a halt during the rainy season.

In contrast to those in Kedonganan, almost all fishermen in Jimbaran are local Balinese who use jukung (small outrigger boats) and fish with gill nets or large round cast nets. ‘Me gill nets are set out in the bay in the late afternoon, and the catch is collected early the next morning. During the fishing season there is lots of interesting activity just after sunrise, well worth waking early for. To get to the hub of the activity, follow the unpaved road that leads to the beach from Jimbaran’s main crossroads, past Pura Ulun Siwi.

Jimbaran’s market is located on the northeast corner of the main crossroads in the village, just across the street from Pura Ulun Siwi. It is the principal trading center for most of the Bukit, as well as for the villages that lie to the north, between Jimbaran and Kuta. There are no crafts sold specifically for tourists, but there is a considerable variety of local products, including baskets and mats produced by the weavers of villages such as Ungasan and Pecatu. There is no special market day. Activity is greatest early in the morning and almost ceases by noon.(courtesy : Wikitravel)

Country

Indonesia

Languages spoken

Balinesse, Bahasa Indonesia, English

Currency used

IDR (Rupiah)

Sports & nature

Water activities
Surfing, There are a couple of good surf breaks off the airport which are easiest accessed from Jimbaran Bay. It is too far to paddle out, but boats are easily chartered from the beach in the middle areas of the bay or close to the fish market. When the surf is rolling here it is very good but it can be a bit unreliable.

Swimming
This is a great bay for swimming with perhaps the safest waters in the whole of Bali. You will find lots of local children come to beach to swim in the evenings - a sure sign that the waters are safe.

Nightlife info

Nightlife is limited in Jimbaran, and most venues close after 11pm. If you want to avoid going to a more busy area, you can try going to Chocolate Café, in Jimbaran Corner, where they have live music and DJ occasionally.

To enjoy a sunset on the beach, there are few better places in Bali. For a cheap beer sitting on plastic chairs, go near the fish café. For something more elegant, try PJ's Bar at the Four Seasons, or JBC (Jimbaran Beach Club), just next to it.

The Rock Bar at Ayana Resort is a bit of tourist trap but it is nonetheless spectacular. The Rock Bar is perched on natural rock 14 m above the waves of Jimbaran Bay, at the base of a low cliff. The design is very chic indeed, but beware of problems when it rains - you will get soaked as there is no shelter at all, and it is a long walk back up the cliff to the main part of the hotel.

Culture and history info

Lesser-known temples
Jimbaran has the usual three village temples, the Pura Dalem (called Pura Kahyangan locally), Pura Puseh and Pura Desa. The latter two are combined into one enclosure in Jimbaran, as occurs in many villages. These tend to be overlooked in favor of the more spectacular and better-known Pura Ulun Siwi (alternatively Pura Ulun Swi). But each is interesting in its own right.

Pura Kahyangan lies just to the west of the cemetery, north of the access road to Hotel Puri Bali. The Pura Puseh/Desa is about 50 in northeast of the market. It is interesting to note that the odalan or anniversary ceremonies of these three temples, and of Pura Ulun Siwi, all occur within four days of each other, commencing on the third day after Galungan (which is the biggest holy day in the traditional Balinese calendar). Jimbaran becomes a beehive of ritual activity at this time of year.

One of the most important ceremonies in Jimbaran is the exorcist Barong procession The Barong is a mythical beast who acts as protector of the village and its people, represented by a mask and costume which is paraded through the area at periodic intervals. Jimbaran's inhabitants spare expense to support the Barong, making offering to , to praying, and performing the ritual. Appearances of the Barong in the main street of Jimbaran between Pura Ulun Siwi and the market are always accompanied by the evil witch Rangda and her two cohorts, and by a retinue of about a dozen other dancers. Trance plays an important part in a Barong performance, and the actions of the trance dancers who try to stab Rangda are bizarre and unforgettable.